: 1227215360

As the economic outlook gets darker, many Queens businesses seek any lifeline they can find. Organizations like the Queens Chamber of Commerce and the Queens Economic Development Corporation (QEDC) have become bastions of hope.

Yet the two groups must carry their mantle with limited or dwindling funds. As a result, expansion and new programs aren’t on the horizon.

“We’re a non-profit,” QEDC Executive Director Spencer Ferdinand said. “What we do is limited by money.”

Still, there is some evolution involved in helping with the current crisis, Chamber of Commerce Vice President Jack Friedman said.

“We’re now emphasizing networking and marketing strategies more,” he said.

Business card exchanges and speed networking functions now operate on the micro, rather than macro level, Friedman said. The Chamber is organizing gatherings by industry, and with its “Keep It In Queens” program, it hopes to keep money circulating within the borough.

The initiative was enough to convince Richard Vallely to join the Chamber last week. He built an Aamco Transmission Shop himself in Queens Village 15 years ago and operates it to this day.

“I like the idea of keeping it in Queens,” Vallely said. “I’m looking to perhaps make new contacts and foster new partnerships within the community.”

In the time he has owned the business, the transmission shop has expanded into a full-service stop, fixing everything from brakes to rotors. Vallely hopes to add fleet service to repertoire with his new Chamber membership.

What? A business expanding sounds unusual, doesn’t it? Consider him outside the norm. Vallely’s business has actually boomed since the economic downturn.

“When you fix cars, you’re in a counter-cyclical business,” he said.

Car owners tend to hold on to their clunky vehicles and live with the cost of repairs. They often fear the steep initial expense of a new car.

While Vallely’s goal is continued growth, entrepreneurs like Neil Levin hope for sustained production through the Chamber.

The Vice President of Webline Designs Inc. has found a steady stream of business in the Chamber’s various events.

“We probably get half a dozen clients a year from the Chamber,” he said. “It’s been an incredible place to get our business done.”

Most recently, Levin paired up with a Queens-based not-for-profit called After-School All-Stars. His company converted an all-Flash, low-function Web site into a search-engine optimized and efficient website.

While he won’t turn down business outside of the borough, Levin gets greater pleasure from working with a Queens business.

“We think sometimes of ourselves as one of the many businesses in Queens,” he said. “There are a lot of people here doing some good work.”